When Two Paths Cross
by ThePenWritesAll
Summary: Destiny just wanted to do Contests. All Alexander wanted to do was battle. They're two different people. They don't get along very well, so how did they end up traveling together? This involves my two OCs. My first Pokemon story, so please be nice! Rated T because... I'm being paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**(I'm going to tell you guys that I can't do the little slash above the 'e' in Pokemon. Also, this story takes place in Sinnoh. There's no Unova Pokemon. ALSO, I'm using a group of Team Galactic members as the bad guys. They are similar to Team Rocket in the show, but without the speeches. Team Galactic **_**does **_**steal Pokemon, you know. I'm also going to warn you, this probably won't be good. It's my first Pokemon story. Another warning, this is in first person-present tense. I've met some people don't like that. If you don't, then you don't have to read this. ANOTHER warning, this first chapter has some major POV changing. If it gets confusing, tell me! Oh, when I put names in parenthesis, it means there's a POV change.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon! But, Alex and Desy are my characters.)**

* * *

**(Alexander)**

"Give back my Riolu!" I shout to the two Team Galactic members in the giant metal machine.

"Hm, let me think. No!" One of them, Victoria, yells back. "This Riolu will be perfect for our experiments."

I carefully study the machine that is trapping my best friend. It is large, that was for sure. It has a red, circular body with long, metal limbs that extend from it. On top of the body is a glass control room that Team Galactic is sitting in. Riolu is trapped in a glass cage that is located in the "hand" of one of the "arms". Wait a minute… glass cage! That's it!

"Riolu, use Brick Break!" I command. Riolu's paw glows white and he punches the glass, which shatters it. As he falls through the broken glass, I run as fast as I can to him. Riolu lands safely in my arms. I set him down and order, "Use Force Palm on the machine!" Riolu puts a palm against the machine and sends out a blast of green light. The machine explodes, sending Team Galactic sailing somewhere in the distance. I turn to Riolu. "Good job, Riolu! That was great!"

Riolu nods happily. "Ri!"

"Let's continue on our way to Jubilife City, shall we?" I ask my partner.

Riolu nods again.

* * *

**(Team Galactic Member: Victoria)**

"Pesky little rat," I mutter as I shake the twigs out of my hair.

"Maybe it had something to do with our machine design," My partner in crime, Darien, chimes. "I mean, we probably should've seen the whole 'glass breaking' deal coming."

"Shut up, Darien," I snap. "Our design was _perfect! _The problem is that Riolu."

"Well, perhaps we should—"

"Sh!" I hiss as I wave my hand vigorously at him. "Look over there." I point to a large field where a young girl was training with her Pokemon, a Kirlia. Darien and I crouch behind a bush to spy on the girl.

"Okay, Kirlia! Use Magical Leaf!" She orders. Kirlia spins around like a ballerina, then sends a bunch of leaves into the air. When the leaves float to the ground, the girl commands, "Now use Confusion!" Kirlia uses Confusion to make the leaves literally dance around. They hop around and dance. "Now use Double Team!" Kirlia makes copies of itself the circle the dancing leaves. Kirlia and the copies start to dance around the leaves. The girl runs to her Kirlia as the Double Team clones disappear. "That was great, Kirlia! I think we have that down pat!"

"A dancing Kirlia, eh?" I whisper. "Seems… catchable."

Darien grins evilly. "Good thing we still have this baby!" He holds up something that looks like a robot's arm. On one end is a claw that is used to capture the target. On the other side is a button. When you push it, it sends out the claw. "Let's catch Kirlia and use _it _for our experiments!"

"Then do it!" I tell him.

Darien nods and presses the button. The claw zooms out of the bush and grabs Kirlia.

**(Destiny)**

"Kirlia!" I yell out. "Who's doing this?"

I hear menacing laugh as two people in strange outfits step out of the bushes. One of them holds the claw that is holding Kirlia. "We're Team Galactic, little girl! I think your Kirlia would be perfect for us to use," The female one says.

"Let go of Kirlia!" I demand.

"Never!" The male one says. "Kirlia is ours now!"

"Kirlia, use Confusion to pry yourself from that claw!" I order. Kirlia's eyes glow and a light pink light surrounds the claw. I see the claws fingers open slightly, but not enough for Kirlia to escape. Kirlia isn't strong enough. I resort to begging. "Please let my Kirlia go!" I plead.

Team Galactic just laughs. "The answer is still no!" The woman says.

"Use Quick Attack!"

A blue and black blur dives forward and strikes the claw, which opens quickly. Kirlia drops to the ground and lands on his feet gracefully. Kirlia leaps to me. I welcome him back with a hug.

"Now use Brick Break!" The blur zooms forward and attacks the claw, causing it to burst. Team Galactic goes flying, screaming all the while.

I finally get a good look at the "blur". It was a small figure with long, black ears and a black tail. It had a blue head and a black mask. "Good job, Riolu," I hear the voice behind me say. _**A Riolu?** _I think. I whip out my Pokedex and scan the Pokemon.

"_Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon. When sad or scared, Riolu's __aura__becomes stronger as a way of signaling its allies."_

"Are you okay?" The voice asks me.

I turn around to face my rescuer. He has spiky, light brown hair and sparkly blue eyes. "Oh, I'm fine. Those weird people were trying to take my Kirlia when you showed up and saved us. Thank you."

"It's no problem. I go through this on a daily basis," He tells me.

"Really?!" I exclaim.

He nods. "They seem to really want my Riolu." He gestures to Riolu. "I'm Alex, by the way." He sticks out his hand. "Alexander, actually."

I nod and shake his hand awkwardly. My hands look like doll hands compared to his. I take my hand away, not wanting to concentrate on that.

"… Do you have a name?"

"Oh! Um, it's Desy," I say. Realizing that that's not my real name, I correct myself, "Destiny."

"Cute name." Aw, that's nice of him. Wait… he called my name _cute? _Does that mean he thinks _I'm _cute, or just my name. _**Desy, you're over-thinking this. It's just a compliment,** _My brain tells me. "Well, bye," Alex says, walking off. His Riolu follows.

"Wait, wait, wait!" I call, running in front of him. Kirlia jumps up next to me. "You have to protect me!"

Alex looks puzzled. "From what?"

"Those people!" I say. "What if they come back for my Kirlia?"

"They won't." He continues walking away, Riolu following.

I walk next to him, Kirlia by my side. "But what if they _do?_"

"They _won't."_

"How can you be sure?"

"I just am."

"That's not logical."

"Sure it is. Now, I have to get to Jubilife City."

"That's where I'm going!" I jump in front of him again and cross my arms over my chest. Kirlia mimics me. "I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not."

Alex tries to walk around me again, but I block his way. He tries again, but gets the same result. "Destiny, get out of the way."

"No!" I refuse. "I need to be protected. Also, you can call me Desy."

Alex sighs heavily, but ignores my ending statement. I turn my nose up stubbornly. Suddenly, I am lifted off the ground. I squeal, "Alex, what are you doing?" Alex doesn't answer. He just slings me over his shoulder. I hit my hands against his back. "Hey, put me down!"

"You said you wanted to come with me," Alex points out.

"And _this _is your way of saying yes?!" I exclaim. Kirlia giggles from behind Alex. "Hush, you," I say.

Alex sighs contently. "Well. Isn't this fun," he says sarcastically.

"It's not too fun back here, either," I retort.

"You insisted on coming."

I don't respond to his comment. "If we're going to be traveling together, we should get to know each other."

"Fine. Ask me anything."

"Alright. Is Riolu your only Pokemon?" I ask.

"Yep. I've had him since he was an egg."

"Hm. Do you have any badges?"

"Nope. I'm just starting my Gym battles."

"So you've already been traveling for a while?"

"Yep. I thought that I'd to some training and bonding with Riolu before I start the Gym battles."

"Cool," I say. A silence arises. "… Aren't you going to ask me some questions?"

"I prefer _not _to talk to your butt."

"Then put me down!" I demand. Alex obeys and sets me back on the ground. I straighten my pink skirt and yellow jacket. I sigh and put on a smile. "Much better. Now you can ask me stuff!"

"Fine. Is Kirlia your only Pokemon?"

"Yeah! I— Hey!" I protest. "That's the same question that I asked you!"

"Oh well. Maybe I just wanted to know," Alex shoots back calmly. "Just answer it."

"Fine. Yes, Kirlia is my only Pokemon _so far. _"

"So far?"

"Yep! I have this egg…" I take the cylindrical case out of my bag. The egg in it was brown with a single tan zigzag across the middle.

"What Pokemon is inside of it?" Alex asks.

"I'm not sure. I found it in the woods outside of Twinleaf Town."

"That's cool. So, do you have any badges?" Alex asks.

"Nope. I don't do Gym battles," I answer, putting the egg back in my backpack.

"Hm? You don't do Gym battles? Then why are you traveling?" Alex questions.

"To do contests, silly!" I reply. "I was never much of the battling type, and neither was Kirlia. So we decided to do contests. We don't have any ribbons. Our first contest is in Jubilife City."

"Sweet! I'll get to see it, then," Alex says.

"Yep! I'm hoping to catch another Pokemon by then."

"Speaking of Pokemon, where'd you get your Kirlia? I've never seen any wild Kirlia around here."

"My father caught him for me in Hoenn," I respond. "That's where I'm from."

"I would've never guessed," Alex tells me. "If you do contests, then you must have a performance for the appeal round."

"I sure do."

"Can I see?"

"Sure! C'mon, Kirlia!" I say. "Okay, use Magical Leaf!" Kirlia sends a group of glowing leaves into the air. As they gently float down, Kirlia twirls about. "Now use Confusion!" Kirlia's eyes glow and a pink light surrounds each leaf. The leaves jump around like they are dancing. "Use Double Team!" Kirlia makes clones of itself that circle the dancing leaves. Kirlia dances around the leaves. The clones and leaves disappear as Kirlia and I take a bow.

"Wow! That was great!" Alex compliments.

"Thanks!" I say, walking back over. "We practiced that a lot. Shall we keep going?"

"Yep. Let's go." We continue our trek to Jubilife City.

* * *

After about 20 minutes, I groan. "Are we there yet?"

"No," Alex says simply.

There was an awkward silence. I break it by asking, "Why do you do Gym battles?"

Alex looks surprised by my question. "Um… I'm not really sure. I just always wanted to be a strong battler. Why do you do _contests_?"

"Because battling is hurtful to Pokemon!" I burst. "It hurts them, and that makes me sad."

"There's battling in contests," He points out.

I cross my arms. "Yeah, but it's not about attacking your opponent, it's about making your moves look good."

"That's absurd! Battling in contests is no different from battling in gym battles!" Alex argues.

"Lies!" I squabble. "There's a world of difference!"

"Then show me!" He demands. "Have a battle with me."

"No! Didn't I just say that I _don't like battling?_" I decline, turning away from him in distaste.

"How about this? If I lose, I'll do enter a contest."

I whip back around. "Deal!"

"But—" He continues. I groan loudly. He shoots me a look. "But, if I win, you have to participate in a Gym battle."

"What? That's not part of the deal!" I protest. "I've already said 'deal'! You can't add things!"

"I wasn't finished when you interrupted me," Alex tells me. "And I should get something for winning if you get something for winning."

"Couldn't you just… choose something else?" I beg. Alex shakes his head, so I give him my best puppy eyes.

"That doesn't work on me," Alex states. I frown. "And if you're so confident about your contest battling, you should win no problem. Right?"

"Right," I mutter, shooting him a glare. I turn to Kirlia. "Ready, Kirlia?" Kirlia smiles and nods.

"Let's go, Riolu!" I hear Alex tell his Pokemon. Alex and I move to an empty space. "Ready, Destiny?"

"Sure," I say half-heartedly. "You can call me Desy."

* * *

"You can have the first move!" Alex flashes me a smile.

I roll my eyes at him. "Kirlia, Will-O-Wisp!" Bluish-white, individual flames appear in front of Kirlia. When Kirlia starts spinning around, they zoom forwards towards Riolu.

"Kick them back at them!" Alex orders Riolu. Riolu jumps up and kicks the flares back at Kirlia and me.

"Use Safeguard!" I command quickly. Kirlia's body becomes surrounding by a mystical blue barrier. The blue flames are repelled by the Safeguard and form a circle Kirlia, like a shield.

"Impressive!" Alex compliments. "Using Safeguard to make a shield out of the fire was a good move. But that won't stop us! Riolu, use Quick Attack!" Riolu bolts forward at an incredible speed and strikes Kirlia. Kirlia falls backwards, but hops right back up. Suddenly, a red glow appears around Riolu, making him sink down. Alex gasps. "Riolu, are you okay?" Riolu nods and stands.

I chuckle. "You've fallen right into our trap," I tell Alex. He looks back at me, puzzled. "Okay, okay. I'll explain. We started off with Will-O-Wisp for a reason. I knew that you would just have Riolu deflect it or dodge it. For the latter, Kirlia would make the flames circle around. Either way, the fire would come back to us, which is where we use Safeguard to repel the attack and make a shield. Knowing that you only use physical attacks, I knew that would have to go through the flame sometime. And that's when Riolu would be _burned._" Alex grits his teeth, realizing he's been outsmarted. "Kirlia, use Confusion!" Kirlia's eyes glow pink and the same pink surrounds Riolu and lifts him up. Kirlia dances and spins around Riolu, taunting him.

I can almost see Alex's brain working inside of his head. "Riolu, use Brick Break on the ground!" Riolu flips around as his paw glows white. He smashes his paw into the ground, sending up clouds of dust. The dust gets in Kirlia's eyes, causing him to lose concentration. He drops Riolu on the ground and rubs the dust from his eyes. I notice that the cloud also extinguished the Will-O-Wisp shield. "Force Palm!" Riolu jumps out of the dust cloud, palm out.

"Kirlia, jump!" Kirlia leaps into the air and into the cloud. Riolu is forced to slide to a halt as the burn's effects come back and suck away energy. "Double Team!" I yell. The dust cloud dies down, showing multiple copies of Kirlia. "Now use Magical Leaf!" The clones start disappearing, revealing the real one, which was behind Riolu. Kirlia fires leaves at Riolu that circle around him like a tornado. When the tornado was nice and large, the leaves all shoot to the center and attack Riolu. The leaves subside as the burn affects Riolu again. Riolu sinks down, panting.

"You should start rehearsing your contest moves now!" I taunt. "Riolu has accumulated a lot of damage!"

I catch a glint in Alex's eyes as he smirks (a little creepily, if you ask me). "He certainly has." Okay, now he's starting to scare me. "Riolu, use Reversal!" Riolu stands up slowly and runs towards Kirlia, a mysterious blue light trailing behind him. **[1]  
**

_**What is that move?** _I wonder. As Riolu approaches Kirlia, I start to panic. "Um… uh… Kirlia, dodge!" Kirlia tries to move to the side, but Riolu is too fast. Riolu slams into Kirlia, knocking him backwards. "Kirlia, no!" I call out. I run over to Kirlia and see that he is knocked out. The shock settles in as I turn to Alex, who was waiting for my word. "You won," I say quietly.

Alex's mouth forms a wide smile. "Yes! Riolu, we did it!" He sprints to Riolu and lifts him up. "We won!" Riolu smiles, as well and starts to cheer.

I look down at Kirlia, who was just now coming to. I plop down next to him. Kirlia sets a hand on my leg, asking if I was okay. "I'm okay, Kirlia," I tell him softly. I knew I wasn't fooling him. I knew that he could sense how I was feeling. Kirlia stares into my eyes. My bottom lip quivers. "Okay, I'm not okay." I try to pull myself together so that I don't cry in front of Alex. I fail miserably. I throw my head back and wail, tears pouring to the ground. Kirlia stands in front of me and tries to calm me down.

Alex and Riolu look over in shock. "Huh? Destiny?" He sets Riolu down and walks over to me. "What's wrong?"

"I-I-I…" I stutter. "I lost!" I sniff loudly. "And you can call me Desy."

Alex panics. "H-hey! It's okay! It's just one battle!"

"Yeah, but now I have to do a Gym battle!" I cry. "And I _hate _losing! And Gyms!"

"It's just one Gym battle," Alex reasons.

"Yeah, but that's less time that I have to practice for contests!" I sob.

"It won't be so bad," He comforts.

"Yes, it will!" I bawl. "It'll be horrible! I'll make a complete fool of myself, just like I did here!"

Kirlia taps on Alex's leg. Alex looks down at him. "Hm? Can you help make her stop crying?" Kirlia nods. He faces me and closes his eyes. The horns on his head start shimmering and glowing. I can literally feel the negative feelings being sucked out of my body. I stop crying and wipe my eyes. Kirlia opens his eyes. The light that was glowing in his horns seems to burst, as the horns release small beams of light and glitter in every direction. Kirlia smiles at me. "Are you done crying?" Alex asks me.

I sigh. "Yes."

"Good. That means you can answer my question." He points to Kirlia, then to me. "What. Just. Happened?"

"Kirlia absorbed my sad feelings," I explain. "You see, my Kirlia is special. He has been ever since he was a little Ralts. Kirlia has a special ability that no other Kirlia has. He can "absorb" negative feelings into his horns from people and Pokemon to make them feel better."

**(Alexander)**

"That's amazing!" I exclaim.

"But Kirlia can't do it very often, because it takes a lot of energy. See?" Destiny gestures to Kirlia, who was slowly sinking back to the ground. "And since this time was right after a battle, it is especially bad." She turns to Kirlia. "Here, let me help you." She digs around in her bag and pulls out an Oran berry. Desy hands it to Kirlia, who eats it slowly.

"So you just carry berries around in your bag?" I question.

"Medicine, too," Destiny replies.

"You have like a portable Pokemon Center in there," I say.

"I guess you could say that."

"Seriously. I've never met anyone who carries around as much stuff as you do."

Destiny giggles. "Thank you! Now, I'll heal Riolu for you." She kneels in front of Riolu and pulls a Potion out of her bag. She sprays it on his wounds, which start to heal.

"Thanks," I say. "How do you keep all that stuff organized?"

"Easy." She pulls out a big plastic case with different compartments for each type of healing item.

"That's amazing," I tell her.

Destiny smiles at me and slips the case in her bag. She stands up and slings the bag over her shoulder. "Shall we keep going?" I nod in agreement. We continue walking to Jubilife City.

* * *

**How do you guys think I did on my first Pokemon story on here? I think it turned out pretty well. :)**

Notes:

**[1]**** I'm completely making this up… The move is real, just not the description.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

**(Destiny)**

I inhale sharply. "Wow! This is amazing! Look at all the buildings!" I turn to Alex with a huge smile. "Aren't you the slightest bit impressed with this city?"

He shrugs. "I've been here loads of times."

"This is my first time out of Twinleaf Town," I inform him.

"We should find a Pokemon Center to stay in while we wait for the contest day," Alex says, searching around the city.

"Why are you looking for it?" I ask. "You said you've been here tons of times. Shouldn't you know where it is?"

"I never said I've _stayed _here," he answers. "I've only passed through." He spots the large Pokemon Center. "Ah! There it is."

As we start to make our trek to the center, I hear a voice, "Hey! Desy!" I cringe at the sound of the familiar voice. I start pushing on Alex's back, urging him to move faster. I would do anything to make sure _she _doesn't talk to me. "Desy, wait up!" I turn around to face the long pink pigtails and the big, green eyes. The girl skips over to us. "Desy, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home?"

I completely ignore the second question, not wanting to answer. "I'm entering a contest," I tell her. "Why are you here?"

"No way! I am too! That's why _I'm _here! Isn't that weird?" She squeals. She spots Alex standing awkwardly next to me. "And who is _this _handsome boy?"

Alex smiles politely. "You're awfully… energetic."

She laughs. "That's just the way I am, babe!" My whole body stiffens and I feel Alex's do the same. _**Did she just call him babe?** _I ask myself. "I'm Bethany." Bethany sticks out her hand for him to shake.

He shakes her hand awkwardly. "I'm Alex."

Bethany takes a loud breath, then exhales with a smile. "So, Desy. I assume you've caught some Pokemon here in Sinnoh. Knowing you, you've probably caught a ton!"

"That's right," I lie. "Tons and tons and tons and…" I trail off, knowing that this lie should be set aside. "How many have you caught?"

"Why don't I show you?" She pulls out four Poke Balls and sends them out one by one. A Chimchar, a Shellos (East Sea), a Masquerain, and a… wait a minute. She didn't send her fourth Pokemon out!

"What about the fourth one?" Alex asks.

Bethany giggles. "I can't show you! It's my secret weapon."

"So you're using it in the contest tomorrow?" I question her as Alex scans her Pokemon with his Pokedex.

"_Chimchar, the Chimp Pokémon. Chimchar easily climbs the sheerest of walls and lives on mountain tops. When it sleeps, its flames go out."_

"_Shellos, the Sea Slug Pokémon. A mysterious purple fluid oozes out of its soft body when Shellos is strongly squeezed. __Two kinds __of__ Shellos, pink and blue, have been confirmed."_

"_Masquerain, the Eyeball Pokémon. Masquerain is the evolved form of__ Surskit__. Its feelers, which resemble eyeballs, help to throw off opponents. It is able to hover in the sky like a__helicopter__."_

"You'll just have to wait and see!" She chuckles and skips away.

I groan loudly. "I hate her so much," I mutter.

"Who was that?" Alex asks me.

"As you know, her name's Bethany. We were neighbors back in Hoenn," I explain. "We battled each other a lot. That was back when I didn't even know what contests were. I thought that when I moved here, I would get away from her. But, of course, she comes here, too."

"She seems nice enough. Why do you hate her so much?" he questions.

"She's evil!" I exclaim. "She would do anything to bring me down!"

"How is she evil? That girl was anything _but _evil!" Alex says. "She has _pink pigtails _for goodness sake! If that doesn't spell innocence, then I don't know what does!"

"Let me give you an example," I tell him. "We share the same birthday. So, since we were neighbors, our parents decided to throw us both the same birthday party. Right before we were going to open presents, that little devil sprinkled crushed up Pinap Berries and put them in my juice, thinking she would get my presents if I got sick! I am _horribly _allergic to Pinap Berries. My face and throat swelled up so badly that we had to cut the party short so my mom could take me to the hospital."

"That is so not true," Alex says. "Where would she find out that you were allergic to Pinap Berries?"

"Probably from the fact that my mom put 'don't bring Pinap Berries, my daughter is allergic to them' on the invitation," I snap.

He holds his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay. Whatever you say."

"You have to trust me on this one!" I insist. "She lures you in with her annoyingly high voice and her big eyes, and when you get in close… she _strikes like a cobra!_" I shout the last part.

Alex jumps slightly at the sudden raise in my tone. "I'll believe it when I see it."

I groan loudly."You are so stubborn!" He rolls his eyes and leads the way to the Pokemon Center. I pout my lips as much as I can, showing my displeasure. Kirlia tugs on my long pink scarf and looks at me sympathetically, silently asking if I was okay. "I'm fine," I tell Kirlia shortly.

When we reach the Pokemon Center, we leave our Pokemon in Nurse Joy's care. I'm finally over the whole 'Bethany' situation and am smiling my usual smile. A thought hits me as Alex and I find a room to stay in. A large frown forms on my face as I plop onto a bed.

Alex lies down on the bed parallel to mine and glances over at me. "Are you _still_ mad at me? Look, I'll apologize if it means that much to you."

"No, it's not that," I tell him. I realize when I hear my foot tapping rapidly against the floor that sitting isn't going to help me. I stand up and start pacing around the room. "I have a big problem."

"And what's that?"

"I don't have any Pokemon to use in my Contest!" I stress to him.

"You have Kirlia," he points out.

"Yes, but there are two sections in a Contest," I reply. "the performance and the battle. Kirlia will be too tired from his performance to battle! What am I going to do?" I begin to pace faster and faster until I am almost jogging.

"Relax, Destiny," Alex says. "Just go out and catch a Pokemon."

"It's not that easy," I snap. "And you can just call me Desy."

Alex looks at me, obviously puzzled. "And why is it not that easy? It seems pretty easy to me." He completely ignores my second statement.

"I need a Pokemon that is super cute!" I tell him. "I can't just catch the first Bidoof that crosses my path! I need a Pokemon that is so dazzling, it'll blow the competition away!"

"If you need a Pokemon that bad, you can borrow Riolu," Alex offers.

"No offence, but Riolu isn't really… the Contest type," I say, trying to spare his feelings.

"Oh. Well, thanks," he mutters sarcastically.

"I'm just telling the truth."

"And _I'm_ telling the truth when I say that you should just go catch a Pokemon," Alex tells me. Before I can reply, he adds, "Yes, it is that easy."

"It might be that easy for someone else, but not for me," I say.

"Why's that?"

I turn my back to him and stare at my feet. "Well… honestly… truthfully… actually…"

Alex sighs heavily. "Spit it out, Destiny."

I whip around and stare him straight in the eyes. "I don't know how to catch a Pokemon, okay?" I confess. Alex stares back at me, showing no reaction. I feel my face heating up under his gaze, so I turn my head away and cross my arms. "Honestly, I don't even know how to operate a Poke Ball. That's why I keep Kirlia out of his ball."

Alex looks at me for a moment, then chuckles. "Nice one, Destiny."

"I'm being serious, Alex!" I whine. "And please, just call me Desy."

As usual, he ignores my name argument. "You're serious?" I nod. He sighs and shakes his head.

"Are you shaking your head at me?!" I scold. "That's mean!"

"Yes, I'm shaking my head at you," Alex retorts. "This is ridiculous! I mean, seriously! How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen!" I snap. "So stop treating me like a five year old!"

"Then stop acting like one!" he shoots back.

I open my mouth to say a comeback, but I can't think of any. I resort to yelling in anger and storming out of the room. I speed walk out of the Pokemon Center and to the edge of the woods. I park myself in front of a tree with a deep frown. Alex is right; I do act like a kid. Storming out of the room like that: childish. Whining like I do: childish. Everything else I do: childish.

Suddenly, I hear rustling in the bush beside me. I leap up, hands held out in defending position. I don't have Kirlia with me, so I have no protection whatsoever. "Wh-who's there?" I call out. A small, lion-like Pokemon steps out. I calm down. Instinctively, I reach for my bag to discover that it wasn't there. _**I must've left it in the room,** _I think to myself. I sit back down by my tree. "Aren't you a cute little thing?" I say. I reach a hand out to it to let it smell me. It cautiously creeps forward to sniff my hand. It realizes that I am not a threat and gives my hand a friendly rub. I smile at it, putting my hand back down. "What kind of Pokemon are you?"

"Shinx! Shinx!" it barks.

"A Shinx… I would look you up, but I don't have my Pokedex," I say quietly. The Shinx hops into my lap and sits down, looking straight up at me. "You really are adorable." Shinx seems to smile at me. I sigh heavily. "I know you may not like this, but I'm going to rant to you."

"Shinx," the Shinx says quietly, as if to tell me to go right ahead.

"Boys are stupid," I begin. Shinx looks up at me with a hurt expression. "Oh, are you a boy? I'm sorry, I didn't mean you. I meant this one boy I know. He laughed at me when I told him something personal. Then we got into a fight… and I really regret it. Sure, I act like a child sometimes. But he didn't have to call me out on it. The thing is, I want to apologize to him. But… I just don't know how. I don't know what to say or anything like that. Do I have to do some special hand motions…?" I pause and look down at Shinx. He seems to be listening closely, though I bet he has no idea what I'm talking about. "I bet you're wondering why I'm trying so hard," I tell him. "Truth is, I've never really had a friend. In all my 16 years of living, I've only had acquaintances. Well, and then there's Bethany, who is my enemy. Kirlia is really my only friend… I—"

"Destiny!" I hear a voice call to me. It was Alex.

"Here he comes," I whisper to Shinx. "You won't tell him what I said, will you?" I joke. Shinx shakes his head with a smile. I giggle at him.

"Destiny, there you are," Alex says as he nears me. "I've been looking all over for you."

My cheeks redden slightly. "You've been looking for me?"

"Yeah. I have to tell you something," he says.

"Me too." I stand up, holding Shinx in my arms.

Alex and I both take deep breaths. "I'm sorry," we say simultaneously. We both look at each other in shock.

"You're sorry?" Alex asks. "Why?"

"I'm sorry that I've been such a nuisance to you," I apologize. "I've done nothing this entire time except for talk, complain, and whine. Why are you sorry?"

"I shouldn't have called you a five year old and laughing at you when you said you didn't know how to use a Poke Ball," he tells me. "Plus, I haven't been very kind to you."

"Are you kidding? You've been nothing _but_ kind to me!" I exclaim. "You let me travel with you, you helped me train…" I trail off when I notice that Alex has his eyes closed. "Alex, is something wrong?"

He opens his eyes to look at me. He sighs. "No. I'm just thinking. Destiny, I am truly sorry." He reaches forward and wraps his strong arms around my shoulders, smothering Shinx between us.

"Me too," I say. "And… you can call me Desy."

I can feel Alex smile by my ear. "I had a feeling you would say that." He pulls away after a few seconds. "I wanted to ask you something. Who is this Pokemon that you're holding?"

"This is Shinx," I introduce. "He's my new friend. He's very friendly. He even listened to me rant."

Alex takes out his Pokedex to scan Shinx.

"_Shinx, the Flash Pokémon. When it senses danger, the hairs on its body light up and it runs away, leaving its opponent dazed."_

"Shinx, this is Alex," I tell Shinx. "He's my… friend."

"Shinx!" Shinx greets Alex.

"Well, we should probably get back to the Pokemon Center," Alex says after giving Shinx a quick stroke.

I nod in agreement. I put Shinx back on the ground. "We have to go now, Shinx. Maybe I'll get to see you again sometime." Shinx rubs his head on my leg before running back into the woods.

"Let's go," Alex says before leading me back to the Pokemon Center.

* * *

**Welp! That's that! I think Shinx is so cute. :) Oh, by the way, I thought I'd tell you guys something about Bethany. The character "Bethany" is the result of me reading the status of this really obnoxious girl I know. SHE IS JUST LIKE THE CHARACTER. Except, she's not _entirely _evil. I have a feeling she is, though.**

**Don't forget to R&R! Please? :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**WHOOOOOOOOOOA. It's been way too long! Does anyone even check if I update anymore? Anyways, let's get right to chapter 3! I'll put my author's note at the end if you actually want to read it. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

**(The next day…)**

**(Destiny)**

"Alex, isn't this a little silly?" I ask. "You're giving me Poke Ball lessons."

"It's not silly if it helps you learn," Alex states calmly. He picks up a Poke Ball off of a dresser. "We'll use Riolu as an example. Is that alright, Riolu?" Riolu nods. "Okay, first, you need to hold the Poke Ball out." Alex demonstrates by extending his arm to hold the ball out. "Then, you click this button on the front." He taps the button with his index finger. A red beam shoots out and recalls Riolu to his Poke Ball. "… And to send a Pokemon back out, just throw the ball in the air." He tosses the Poke Ball up and it shoots out the red light again, revealing Riolu.

"That seems easy enough," I comment.

"It's simple. Now you try," he says, holding the Poke Ball out to me. I flinch and squeeze my eyes shut. When I open them again, I see a very confused Alex. "What was that about?" he asks.

"It was nothing," I lie.

"You're a terrible liar. Something's wrong," Alex says. He sticks the Poke Ball in front of my face.

I squeak unwillingly and smack his hand away. "Get that out of my face."

"I got it!" Alex exclaims. He points at me. "You're afraid of Poke Balls, aren't you?"

I scoff. "No, I am not!" I protest. "What kind of weirdo would be afraid of _Poke Balls?"_

"Catch!" Alex calls, tossing the Poke Ball at me. I let out a shriek and dive to the ground. Riolu jumps up from behind me and catches the ball. "Nice catch, Riolu," Alex compliments, walking over to me. He looks down at me with a triumphant look.

I sigh and mutter, "Okay, I guess I am afraid of Poke Balls."

Alex frowns slightly and helps me up. "Now, Destiny, why would you be afraid of Poke Balls?"

"You can call me Desy," I tell him. As usual, he ignores that statement. "I guess the fear could've started when a Poke Ball gave me a concussion…"

"A Poke Ball gave you a concussion?" he asks doubtfully. "What did it do, grow legs and kick you in the head?"

"First of all, your sarcasm hurts, so I'm going to try to ignore that," I begin. "As for your first question, yes, a Poke Ball gave me a concussion."

"So what happened?" Alex questions.

"It was Bethany," I state simply. "She used to make me battle with her all the time. Every time I would come outside, she'd be there with her little Surskit, demanding a battle. She'd usually win, considering Kirlia was weak against Surskit's Bug-types moves. When Kirlia learned Magical Leaf, we finally won. Bethany got so frustrated that she threw Surskit's Poke Ball at me. It hit me in the head and gave me a concussion."

"I understand now," Alex says. "So, what we have to do is get rid of this fear somehow."

"I'll do whatever it takes," I tell him with a determined look on my face.

"That's good," Alex murmurs, digging a Poke Ball out of his backpack. He lets it sit in the palm of his hand as he holds it out. "Touch it."

"Touch it?" I repeat. "That seems a little pointless. And don't tell me to touch your—"

"If you don't, I'll throw it at you and give you another concussion."

I purse my lips. "You can be pretty violent, you know that?" I lift one finger and cautiously move it towards to Poke Ball. I swallow hard as my finger nears it. _**I shouldn't be this nervous,** _I think to myself. _**It shouldn't be this hard.** _When my finger comes into contact with the ball, I discover something surprising. It's not scary! It didn't jump up and bite me or anything!

I grab the Poke Ball out of Alex's hand. "This isn't that bad," I say with a smile. "It's not even that scary." I flip the Poke Ball into the air, high above my head. I lift my hand up to catch it, but I miss. Completely. The ball comes down and hits me square in the nose, then bounces to the ground. I let out a yelp of pain and hold my nose with my hands. I hunch over to hide my face. I was trying to look cool, but I ended up looking like an idiot. Go me, right?

Alex gasps. "Oh my gosh!" He puts a hand on my shoulder and bends over to try to look at my face. I turn my head away so he can't see. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," I reply through my hands. "My nose hurts pretty badly right now."

"Let me see it," he says, removing his hand from my shoulder.

I shake my head. "No! I'm afraid there's going to be a bruise!"

"So why can't I see it?" he questions. "I could check if there's a bruise."

I shake my head again. "It's embarrassing!"

"Let me see," he says, this time with more force. Jeez, when he says things like that, I feel like I _have _to listen to him.

I reluctantly put my hands down and lift my head up to him. "Is there a bruise?"

When Alex sees my face, his eyes widen slightly. He crosses his arms and shifts his weight to one foot. "Oh…"

"What?" I ask, my worry showing in my voice. "Alex, you're starting to scare me a little. Is there a bruise? Just tell me."

"You don't have a bruise."

I sigh in relief. "That's good."

"You have a bloody nose."

"What?!" I exclaim. By now, I feel the sticky substance dribbling out of my nose. "Oh, what do I do? What do I do? Alex, please help me!"

Alex exhales slowly and starts to walk over to the bathroom. "You sure do freak out about little things. Pinch your nose and tilt your head back, alright?"

I do as he says. "Little things?" I repeat. "This isn't little! There's blood pouring out of my nose!"

"It's not pouring out of your nose," he says from the bathroom. "It's just a little bit of blood." He comes out holding a tissue. He hands it to me.

I take it and clean the blood off my upper lip. "Still, I hate blood. Why did I have to hit myself in the nose with a Poke Ball?"

Alex shakes his head. "What were you doing, anyways?"

"I don't even know," I answer. "Whatever I was doing, it didn't turn out how I wanted it to."

He chuckles. "Obviously."

I pop my hip out sassily. "Are you laughing at me?" I can't hide my smile.

"Oh, come on," he laughs, nudging me with his elbow. "Like you wouldn't be laughing at me if I hit myself with the Poke Ball."

I giggle and take my hand away from my nose. It had already stopped bleeding. I walk over to the trash can and throw the tissue away. "I probably would. Okay, I know I would."

He gives me a worried look. "You aren't afraid of Poke Balls again, are you?"

I smile. "No. I'm fine, now. They aren't scary anymore."

"They weren't scary in the first place," he mutters.

I frown and smack him on the arm. "Hey, I heard that."

"That doesn't mean you get to hit me!" he replies. He bends down to pick the Poke Ball up, then hands it to me. "You can have this. After all, it has your blood on it."

I take it from him and inspect it. "There's no blood on this."

Alex puts his hands behind his head and looks away. He blushes slightly. "Yeah, well, it might. So I don't want it."

I look down at the ball. _**Why would he just give this to me?** _I wonder._ **It was a ball that he purchased with his own money. It didn't even have my blood on it, so he had no reason to just hand it over. And why was he blushing when he gave it to me? Something's going on here.** _I smirk when I think I realize what happened. _**He wanted to give this to me, so he just said he didn't want it. He needed an excuse to give it to me, so he said it had my blood on it. He tried to make it unnoticeable, but I caught on. Nothing gets past Destiny!**_

"Destiny, why are you smirking like that?" Alex asks. "You're kind of creeping me out."

I decide not to call him out on it. "It's nothing! I was just thinking about… something funny I saw on TV a while ago."

He narrows his eyes at me, obviously suspicious. He doesn't say anything else on the subject. "Moving on. You're going to need that Poke Ball to catch a Pokemon."

"But I don't even know how to catch a Pokemon," I tell him.

"Then I'll teach you," he says. "Let's go outside."

He leads me out of the Pokemon Center and around the back. Kirlia and Riolu are playing there. They are having a playful battle. Kirlia's using his best Contest moves and Riolu is using his offensive moves. They seem to be having fun, though. Alex and I move a little bit away from them so we don't get caught up in the fight.

"Okay, to catch a Pokemon you first need to weaken it," Alex instructs. "You can do things like paralyze it or put it to sleep to make it even easier to catch. After the Pokemon is weakened, you throw a Poke Ball at it."

"That sounds easy enough," I say, holding the Poke Ball in my hand. "Let's go find a Pokemon now!"

"Hold on a second," Alex stops me. "To be able to actually catch the Pokemon, you have to hit it with the ball. That means you have to have an accurate throw. Do you have an accurate throw?"

"I don't know," I respond. "I've never really paid attention when I throw things."

"Then let's see if you do." He points to a tree a couple yards away from me. "Try to hit that tree." He bends down and picks up a rock about the size of a Poke Ball. He holds it out to me. "Use this rock at first."

I nod and take the rock. I focus on the tree, then close my eyes and throw the rock. When I open my eyes again, I see the rock land a couple feet away from the tree. I look over at Alex, whose mouth is open.

"It wasn't that bad, was it?" I ask him.

"Uh…"

"Hold on, hold on!" I say quickly. "That was just a mess up. Let me try again." I pick up another rock, close my eyes, and throw it. This time, I lob it into the air and it falls a little bit in front of the tree. I look over at Alex again.

He forces a smile. "It wasn't _that_ bad…"

I sigh and hang my head. "It's okay; I know I don't have an accurate throw."

He claps a hand onto my shoulder. "That's good! Admitting it is good." He hands me another rock. "Now, throw again. I'll try to find out what you're doing wrong."

"Okay." I close my eyes and fling the rock in the general direction of the tree. I open my eyes and see the rock roll to a stop next to the tree.

"Alright, I see your problem," Alex says. "You're closing your eyes."

"Oh. Is that bad?"

"Yes, it is bad," he answers. "You can't see where you're aiming if your eyes are closed, right?"

"I guess not…"

"So just open your eyes and throw," he advises. "You'll do a lot better. Okay, now try again."

"Alright." I scoop up another rock and take a deep breath to concentrate. I keep my eyes and throw the rock one more time. The rock sails into the branches of the tree. I groan. "Even with my eyes open, I can't throw right!"

"Well, you actually hit the tree this time," Alex points out. "Just not the part of the tree you were aiming for. Just keep throwing. You'll get it eventually."

_**(Eventually…)**_

"You were much closer that time," Alex says.

"Alex, my arm is tired," I whine. "Can I take a break?"

"No. Just a little longer. I have a feeling you'll get it in a couple more tries. You're getting really close."

"No!" I shout audaciously. "I'm sick of throwing these stupid things!" I dig around my bag and take out the Poke Ball Alex gave me. "I'm sick of practicing to throw this stupid thing! _Ugh!" _With that yell, I throw the Poke Ball as hard as I can towards the tree. The ball moves in a straight line on a direct path for the tree. Surprisingly, the ball hits right in the center of the tree.

Alex turns his head quickly to look at me. "You actually hit it!"

I beam. "I did! I finally did it!" I jump up and down, celebrating. Alex stands beside me and laughs. When I stop bouncing, I turn to him and ask, "Can I go catch a Pokemon now?"

"Maybe we should wait until tomorrow," Alex suggests.

"But the Contest is in two days!" I protest. "If I catch my Pokemon today, then I can have all day tomorrow to train it!"

"It's starting to get dark," he points out. "If we go out and look, it'll get really dark while we're out there. We won't be able to find our way back then."

I frown slightly. "Yeah, I guess you're right." I look over at Kirlia and Riolu. They've tired themselves out and are now just half-heartedly wrestling. "Kirlia, Riolu, we're going back in now!" The two Pokemon look up and run over to us.

"You did really well today," Alex compliments me with a small smile. "You conquered your fear and learned how to use a Poke Ball. All in one day. That's great."

I smile and put my hands on my hips. "Yeah, I'm proud of myself."

"There's only one more thing you need to do before your Contest," he says. "You just need to find a—"

"A Pokemon!" I interrupt after I spot a wild Starly hopping around to our left.

"Yeah, that. But you didn't have to finish my sentence for me."

"No, Alex, look!" I point at the wild Pokemon.

He looks where I'm pointing. "Oh, a wild Pokemon!"

"Yes! I have to have it!"

"I thought you said you needed a Pokemon that was 'super cute,'" Alex quotes me.

"I did say that," I reply. "Do you not see this Starly's cuteness? This Starly is nothing like the others!"

Alex gives me this look, telling me he obviously doesn't get what I'm saying. "Well, if you want it so bad, catch it."

I nod determinedly."First, I have to weaken it," I whisper. I turn to Kirlia. "Okay, let's go, Kirlia! We're going to catch this Starly!" Kirlia leaps in front of me, ready to fight. "Okay, use Confusion!" Kirlia's eyes glow light pink and the same pink light surrounds Starly. Starly is lifted into the air, then thrown back onto the ground. Starly tweets defiantly at Kirlia then flies quickly towards him. Starly slams into Kirlia and keeps flying around.

"That was Aerial Ace," Alex states. "That move never misses its target."

"Kirlia, use Confusion to bring Starly back down!" I command. The pink light surrounds Starly again and drags him back to the ground. Starly gets right back up and zooms towards Kirlia at break-neck speed. Kirlia gets hit, but he toughs it out and stays standing. "Kirlia, are you okay?" I ask. He nods.

"Okay, it's weaker now!" Alex calls to me. "Throw the Poke Ball!"

I grip the Poke Ball in my pale, shaking hand. This is it. My first Pokemon capture... I can't fail! If I don't catch this Starly, I won't be able to enter the contest. This Starly is far better than any other Starly I've seen (which I haven't seen a lot), so I want it. I _need_ it.

"Okay! Go, Poke Ball!" I throw the ball, hoping that target practice I did will finally pay off. The ball hits the Starly in the head and opens up to suck it inside. As soon as the ball hits the ground, I start jumping up and down. "Yes! I caught the Starly!"

"Don't celebrate, you haven't caught it yet," Alex tells me.

"Huh?" I look at the ball again. It's on the ground, rocking back and forth.

"It's still trying to resist the capture," he explains. "It could possibly break out."

"No!" I cry out. "I need this Starly!"

"Then you better hope it works."

I crouch down next to the ball and peer at it with narrowed eyes, daring it to open. It rocks some more, flashing occasionally. After a few more shakes, the button flashes for the last time. I stand up slowly and turn to Alex. "Can I celebrate now?" I ask hopefully.

He smiles and nods.

I bend down and scoop up the Poke Ball. "I did it! Woo! I caught my first Pokemon!" I spin around with the ball in my hands. Kirlia spins around with me, smiling and laughing. Alex smiles and chuckles. I run over to him and hug him around the neck.

"Uh, what are you doing?" he laughs awkwardly.

"I'm hugging you, of course!" I reply. "You've helped me so much today. I just wanted to thank you." I pull away and smile up at him. "So thank you."

He turns his head away and mutters, "Well, you could've just said thank you."

"C'mon, Alex," I say, walking off with Kirlia behind me. "Let's go inside now."

* * *

**I hope you guys aren't mad at me for not updating for like a year. How long has it been anyways? I'm too lazy to check (or to update, obviously). SHUT UP, PARENTHESIS. YOU ARE PARENTHESIS WHY ARE YOU SPEAKING. *Sigh* I am so sorry.**

**If you were paying attention, you would've noticed that my username is different. Yes, I am no longer Swagga Cat. I am now ThePenWritesAll. Name changes, w00t! And I took out the first "chapter" I had up for this since it wasn't really a chapter. It was more of a reference for me, but I decided to just take it down. And a new cover for this! Well, it's the first one, so yeah. Tell me what you think of it. I edited it myself, of course. :)**

**I had like half of this chapter written before I lost interest in this story. Well, I didn't really lose interest. I just kind of forgot about it. (So you lost interest in it.) PARENTHESIS. NO. **

**So after like a year of being covered in digital dust, chapter 3 is finally here! FO' REALS.**

**Oh my gosh, I was playing Pokemon Black 2—which is great, by the way. Can you believe I only got it a couple of weeks ago? **_**Anyways, **_**I was playing Black 2 and I just beat Marlon or whatever his face is last night. And he said something something fo' reals and I DIED. It was **_**the best **_**thing ever.**

**Okay, I'm done now. Bai bai! Hopefully I'll update again soon!**


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